Moos Simone B.

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Last Name
Moos
First Name
Simone B.
ORCID
0000-0002-3421-1717

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  • Thesis
    The marine biogeochemistry of chromium isotopes
    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2018-02) Moos, Simone B.
    In the ocean, chromium (Cr) is a redox-sensitive trace metal. The reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) occurs in oxygen deficient zones (ODZs), and Cr reduction in general has been identified as a significant Cr isotope fractionation mechanism. This thesis presents the first Cr isotope variations (d53Cr) in ODZs of the ocean and adds to the sparse Cr isotope data published for modern seawater. I developed a precise and accurate Cr isotope method for seawater samples. Seawater acidification converts total Cr to Cr(III) which is preconcentrated by Mg(OH)2 coprecipitation. A three-column anion exchange chromatography scheme separates Cr from isobaric and polyatomic interferences present in the seawater and reagent matrixes. Isotope analysis is performed on a MC-ICP-MS IsoProbe. The addition of a 50Cr-54Cr double spike allows for accurate correction of procedural and instrumental Cr mass fractionations. The first Cr isotope ratio data for a full water column profile in the Pacific Ocean is presented. This station serves as a fully oxic counterpart to stations located within the ODZ of the Eastern Tropical North Pacific. At one station, Cr concentrations are lower and d53Cr values are heavier within the ODZ. This is consistent with Cr reduction resulting in isotopically lighter, particlereactive Cr(III), which is scavenged and exported from the water column. A strong correlation of d53Cr and d15NNO3- at this station suggests that Cr reduction may be microbially mediated instead of simply being a product of thermodynamic equilibrium. Alternatively, Cr may be reduced by Fe(II). In the anoxic bottom waters of the Santa Barbara Basin a strong Cr reduction signal (lower [Cr], heavier d53Cr) is observed, which may result from the same aforementioned Cr reduction mechanisms. A shift to the heaviest seawater Cr isotope signatures yet observed was detected in the oxic bottom waters of the shallow Arctic Chukchi shelf, while Cr concentrations decreased. This extreme isotope signal may result from Cr reduction by a reduced species (e.g. Fe(II)), which was released from the underlying anoxic shelf sediments. Cr in the Atlantic layer and in the bottom water of a central Arctic station appears to be shaped by a novel, unidentified process.
  • Article
    Trivalent chromium isotopes in the eastern tropical North Pacific oxygen-deficient zone
    (National Academy of Sciences, 2021-02-23) Huang, Tianyi ; Moos, Simone B. ; Boyle, Edward A.
    Changes in chromium (Cr) isotope ratios due to fractionation between trivalent [Cr(III)] and hexavalent [Cr(VI)] are being utilized by geologists to infer oxygen conditions in past environments. However, there is little information available on Cr in the modern ocean to ground-truth these inferences. Transformations between the two chromium species are important processes in oceanic Cr cycling. Here we present profiles of hexavalent and trivalent Cr concentrations and stable isotope ratios from the eastern tropical North Pacific (ETNP) oxygen-deficient zone (ODZ) which support theoretical and experimental studies that predict that lighter Cr is preferentially reduced in low-oxygen environments and that residual dissolved Cr becomes heavier due to removal of particle-reactive Cr(III) on sinking particles. The Cr(III) maximum dominantly occurs in the upper portion of the ODZ, implying that microbial activity (dependent on the sinking flux of organic matter) may be the dominant mechanism for this transformation, rather than a simple inorganic chemical conversion between the species depending on the redox potential.